Ansem's Secret
by Kiwiprince
Summary: Oneshot continuing from my KH 3 fic and will contain spoilers . What really happened when Ansem fought Xalea? The truth may shock you. Please read and review.


**_A/N: Its been a while hasn't it. Well had always planned to write this fic after my KH 3 one but hadn't gotten around to it. Now I have some spare time and… well here it is. Beware this is just a one shot and the reason I am doing it is because a friend bet me $10 that I couldn't. The bet will be at the end of the fic if your interested but I would advise you not to read it till you've read the fic as it will most likely spoil it for you. Please read and review and if you haven't read my KH 3 fic then this will spoil it for you. Perhaps if this interests you enough you might want to go back and read it._**

It has now been many days now since I made that terrible mistake. My mind is wrought with guilt over what I have done. If successful it will be good for everyone but if it fails…

If it fails the consequences could be catastrophic dragging all the worlds into chaos. I cannot allow this to happen and yet there is nothing I can do to prevent it. Perhaps if I start from the beginning you will understand. It all started near the end of the second war of the keyblades.

"Ansem!"

I turned around to see who had called me and felt joy leap through my heart when I saw him. "Riku!" I called back. I was tired from battle, too tired to see the crazy look in Riku's eyes. When I look back on it now I realise how foolish I had been. If only I had noticed, things might be different…

We embraced each other briefly, acknowledging each others lack of energy.

"Ansem, there is something that I need your help with. Something that you can't even whisper about to anyone. Can I trust you?

It was then that the smallest shadow of apprehension entered my mind. I needed to know more but I was loathe to do so. "Of course Riku. What is it?"

Riku was quiet for a minute before speaking again as if he knew the danger in what he was asking. "Is there any way for me to change the past?"

Suddenly it felt as though all the blood had left my veins to be replaced by shock and fear. I hid it as best I could but it wouldn't have mattered as Riku seemed to be too preoccupied. "There is no changing the past Riku. Not unless you were already there in that past."

"Huh?" Riku said, obviously not grasping the full weight of what I had just said.

"If you went into the past to change something you would not really be changing it." I sighed when I saw Riku listening intently even though he barely seemed to understand. "If you go back in time, nothing you do will change the future. If you are meant to go to the past then that means whatever you do is what shaped the present."

A look of disappointment washed over the boys face. "I understand," he said.

A beam of light shot out from nowhere and lit up the sky. One second it was pitch black, the next it was full of light.

We both stared up at the sky in amazement. What kind of phenomenon could this be? Of course this is before I learned the true power of a keyblade.

"Wow," Riku gasped in surprise.

"This is a sign Riku," I said. Perhaps I was wrong to attempt to dissuade Riku from going into the past. Perhaps it was his destiny.

As I thought this an uncontrollable sense of happiness filled my body. Judging by the wide grin on Riku's face I was almost certain that he was feeling the same thing. While this was happening, a second, smaller beam of light shot down at Riku's feet. An incredible explosion of blue energy was the sign that a portal had been ripped open. I could not see as far through the portal as Riku could but I knew straight away that it was the portal to the fabled Timeless River. I had previously learnt of it's existence from Mickey but somehow never found time to seek it out. Now a door way had opened at my feet and all I could think of was how to get as far away from it as possible. An inexplicable feeling of sadness shot through my body and I had to struggle to keep on my feet. Riku looked so giddy with joy that it was obvious he felt none of my sorrow.

"This is the way through isn't it Ansem?" Riku asked me.

I stared into my friends eyes and tried to convey the fear I felt with the hope that he would not go. "Yes, it is the way through but…"

"Save it my friend," Riku said. "I'm going through whether you want to or not."

With that he began to walk through the portal. Unfortunately he never made it to the other side because at that moment a girl leapt out of the shadows. She now stood between Riku and the portal to the Timeless River.

"Alexa?" Riku asked uncertainly. I understood the boy's confusion. He had just lost his first love and now he was face to face with someone who looked remarkably like Alexa.

The girl nodded and Riku grabbed onto her, hugging her tight. Only I saw the truth. Only I saw the girl slide her left hand down her leg and into her boot. Only I saw the silver dagger she withdrew and held above Riku's back.

"Riku that girl is a nobody!"

But it was too late. Riku was lost in thoughts of happiness at the mere thought that Alexa was still alive. I ran towards them but I was too late. She stabbed the dagger into his back and Riku fell to the ground with a groan. "Why?" he said before his eyes lost focus and he fell to the ground, his consciousness quickly slipping away from him.

I glared at the girl. "You might have fooled Riku but you haven't fooled me! Who are you!"

I don't have to tell you anything," the girl sneered. "But… it's not like you'll be able to tell anyone when you're dead! I'm Xalea!"

I allowed myself the familiar feeling of pleasure at being correct but that evaporated as quickly as it had come when I caught sight of Riku's body which was now lying in a pool of blood that was gradually growing larger.

"You'll pay for this Xalea!" I yelled as I recalibrated my data converter. Most people believed it had exploded but I know better. I simply over powered the data converter so that it converted itself into data along with my heart. Now however I wanted to do much more then convert her into data. I wanted to end her life. That would normally be a difficult task but with all the darkness it had absorbed from the heartless it would be quite easy.

The instant I finished recalibrating the data converter I charged it in preparation for a shot. The first one was a miss as Xalea leapt out of the way. She was every bit a ninja as her counterpart had been. The good thing was that she was now backing away from Riku's body.

I fired another blast at her, ensuring that he would be able to do what he needed to do. There was still a chance that Riku could live but it was dangerous and he might prefer death over the possible side-effects. Still there was no good option to choose and so I did what I would never have considered in any other situation. I pulled the silver dagger from Riku's back and placed it gently on the ground before looking for the Twilight Blade. After a few minutes and a few more 'warning' shots I found it. I felt it's coldness in my hands intensifying my feeling of terror. Coldness signified loss of life. For a moment I was still, contemplating the possible side-effects of what I was planning to do but then I realised time was running out and I couldn't let him die. I held the Twilight blade up high in the air and then stabbed it through Riku's heart. Riku groaned again but this time I was glad to hear it. That meant he was still alive.

"Now let's get down to business!" I yelled. It is not like me to talk to myself but this was an occasion like no other.

My eyes quickly showed me where Xalea was hiding and I aimed carefully this time. One of us had to die and it was not going to be me. The data converter glowed black with darkness and I knew that I had to shoot immediately.

The sound echoed throughout the Endless Abyss. I doubt there was a single person on that world who did not hear it although they may have attributed it to other events happening. Needless to say, Xalea collapsed on the ground, unable to fade away like all nobodies do as the weight of the darkness was just too much.

"**Ansem," **a voice said.

I turned around and saw a large floating ball of energy above Riku's body. "Riku?"

"**Who else?"**

I grinned in my mind of course. "Sorry my friend, there was no other way."

"**It doesn't matter,"** Riku said. **"I am glad that you did not let me pass away yet. I have a task to complete and nobody must know about it, not even Sora."**

"What are you talking about?" Ansem asked.

"**I am going to save Alexa,"** Riku said simply.

"And how do you plan to do that?" I asked him, even as my mind tried to find the answer.

"**It is not for you to know Ansem."** Riku said. **"The less you know, the less you can tell.**"

Suddenly I noticed that the large ball of energy Riku was moving towards Xalea's body. "She's a nobody Riku," I said. "She will be of no use to you, in-fact she will most likely fade away before you get a chance."

Even though Riku now looked like nothing more then a large ball of energy, I had a strong impression that he was smiling.

"**It will be enough for my plan to work."**

"How can I avoid telling Sora the truth?" I asked, even as the answer to that question formed in my mind.

"**There is no other way. Take my body back to the castle. Tell them I am dead."**

"But… to put them through such sorrow would be criminal."

"**They will remember nothing of it. I am changing time itself remember."**

I sighed as I watched a floating ball of gas with a girl in it's centre float through the portal to the black and white of the Timeless River. I could only hope that he realise the folly of his decision before it destroyed him.

A terrible decision to have to make to be sure. If I had to do it all over again I would most likely do it the same way but I still can't get over the look in Sora's eyes when I told him his best friend of 17 years was dead. That is something that will haunt me forever even if Riku returns.

**_A/N: The bet was that I couldn't "kill" off a character and then bring him back without making it seem weird. Well I feel like I have done it well. Anyways enjoy reading this. _**


End file.
